Manifest Destiny
by Shadow0Fire
Summary: The world is a vast, unexplored expanse; the Elemental Nations is not the only inhabited place on the earth. When fisrt contact occurs with visitors from afar, the Shinobi continent is launched into a spiral of destiny and change, spearheaded by the lone survivor of betrayal. Falling in with the natives of Suna, how will this child, devoid of memories, change the world?


**I'm an idiot for even daring to consider writing yet another story, but I guess my writer's heart cannot be conquered! If I have a new idea and I like it, it shall be written, regardless of the inherent stress of writing a higher number of stories.**

**However, as with all things I write nowadays, the first chapter of any new story is like a "test-the-waters" chapter. If the first chapter receives positive attention, then I'll know it's worth continuing. If it falls into obscurity or receives distinctly negative feedback, I'll know to just save my time and effort for another story. So if you find that you like where this story is going right off the bat, please let me know! It's a great help when it comes to time management.**

**And remember that Naruto is the biggest anime category on the site, so some type of feedback is welcome. Without reader support, anything in a category this large is bound to fade into obscurity!**

* * *

Kintaro, your average, everyday fisherman from the Land of Waves, had nothing to do this fine morning as he stood near the railing of his employer's fishing vessel, already far out to sea. He and five other men, fishermen like him, had been out here for a week, in hopes of catching a piece of the large cod migration that usually took place around this time of year.

The last four days had been profitable, but today, the crew's luck had shifted. While the skies remained clear and the seas remained calm, they had yet to catch even a small fraction of the fish they had yesterday, or any day prior to this one. Even so, the four previous days had been so productive that Kintaro doubted their boss would mind. The fishermen were paid on commission, and received a small bonus for every twenty-five pounds of fish they caught. They'd be returning home with full pockets, regardless of today's outcome.

Figuratively dying from boredom, Kintaro, his short black hair covered by a straw hat to shield his eyes, turned to one of his fellow's on the deck.

"Yun, don't you have a deck of cards or something? I'm dying over here."

The other man kept his gaze on the water.

"Sorry, Kintaro. I left them at home, thinking this would be a busy trip all the way through. But I do have a cigarette if you're interested…in…that… hey, is that a boat out there?"

Kintaro rolled his gray eyes in exasperation.

"Of course there's going to be more boats out here, you idiot. It's cod season. Now what'd you say about those smokes?"

Yun ignored him, and continued to stare out at the sea. After a few moments of squinting, he stood and leaned against the rail of the fishing vessel to try and identify a boat he saw out on the horizon.

"Something's different about this one, Kintaro. I can see huge tears in the sails from here, and… there are some sort of weird contraptions on both sides. It's not a fishing boat, I can tell you that."

His interest piqued on this boring day, Kintaro looked up from his net hanging over the edge of the boat and followed Yun's gaze out to sea. There was indeed a boat out there, a few kilometers in the distance, but even from here, Kintaro could tell that it was no ordinary ship.

Like Yun had said, there were strange constructions on the sides of the ship, although Kintaro couldn't tell what they were from here. One thing Yun had failed to mention though, was that the boat's tattered sails sported a red emblem Kintaro had never seen, one that vaguely looked like a rendition of a dragon, although it was hard to tell at this distance.

Kintaro whipped out the cracked telescope he usually carried for occasions like this and extended the magnifying tool before focusing in on the mysterious boat in the distance. Despite the thin crack that ran down the center of Kintaro's visual, it was obvious that the distant ship was far larger than it had originally appeared. Although it was hard to determine its exact size even with the telescope, it was clear that the ship would easily tower over the small fishing vessel Kintaro and his buddies occupied.

Kintaro could now see that the devices on the sides of the boat were some sort of large bow looking contraptions. They seemed similar to the small crossbows commonly used in the Land of Waves, but these were much larger, and no doubt fired a much more lethal projectile.

Judging by the size and weaponry the vessel sported, Kintaro guessed that it was some type of warship. But even with that conclusion reached, confusion remained. The only Elemental Nations that really possessed a navy of any kind were Kiri and Iwa, but this mysterious warship sported no emblems or other descriptive marks to affiliate it with either nation. And even if it did belong to Kiri or Iwa, why would it be all the way out here, in neutral waters near the Land of Waves?

Even more unnerving was the lack of movement on the ship. For such a large vessel, surely there was an equally large crew? However, Kintaro couldn't see any movement at all, even with his telescope, and above all else, this worried him.

"What do you see, Kintaro? Even from here, I can see that it's no normal ship."

Kintaro was startled out of his observations by the voice of the fishing vessel's captain, a grizzled old man with dark eyes and graying hair, whose face sporting a fair share of wrinkles.

"I'm not sure, captain. I think it's a warship of some sort, but I can't see anyone moving around on the decks. The sails are torn too, which is never a good sign."

The old captain nodded.

"Well, checking it out couldn't hurt. If it's full of injured soldiers, we can help 'em out and no doubt get on somebody's good side. If it's deserted, we can take the loot back home. Kami knows we need any type of wealth we can get our hands on with the depression going on…"

The small band of fishermen was indeed eager to investigate the strange ship and possibly secure some loot, but it was not lost on any of them that the inhabitants of the boat could be unfriendly. But the gain was likely greater than the risk, and within minutes they were sailing towards the mysterious ship in the distance.

The calm blue waters beneath their boat carried the fishermen swiftly towards their goal, and the closer they got, the more obvious the size of this unknown ship became in comparison to their own vessel. The captain, who had once served in the Iwa navy before retiring to the Land of Waves, whistled in amazement as the phantom ship drew closer.

"Phew… this ship is a biggun, no doubt. The damn thing is almost as big as forty of this little fishing boat. It's destroyer class, at the very least; it might even be considered a small battleship."

The rest of the fishing crew knew little to nothing about warship classification by size; what they did know was that the ship looming over them was massive, and a larger ship meant more cargo space, which meant more loot.

Eager to board the ship, the crew took some of their emergency spare rope and knotted a large hook around the end, forming a D.I.Y. grappling hook. Tossing it over the edge of the ship alongside them, no easy task with its sheer height, the crew secured the rope and began scaling the ship one by one. Two of them stayed behind to keep their fishing vessel in place.

Leading the foray into alien territory, Yun reached the edge of the ship's railing before any of his fellow fishermen, including Kintaro, just behind him. That being in the case, Yun was the first one to peek over the edge, and his first words were not lost on his fellows behind him.

"Holy shit…"

Kintaro called up to the stunned man.

"What is it Yun? What do you see?"

Yun shook his head in disbelief as he finished climbing over the railing.

"I think you'd rather see for yourself…"

Following his advice, Kintaro and the rest of the boarding party followed suit and climbed over the edge of the warship. As each one of them clambered over the edge, they were struck with silence at the altogether alien sight before them.

The deck of the warship was caked in dried blood, clearly from the bodies of the slain soldiers scattered around the ship; but this was not what shocked them. The real cause of their awe was the identity of the soldiers, who were outfitted in ways the fishermen had never seen before.

The dead men on the deck of the ship were covered head to toe in steel armor; Thick metal plates covered every part of the body except for the joints, which were protected by some type of underlying metal mesh linked together. Lying around the dead were strange, foreign weapons the men had never seen the likes of.

Sure, it was obvious that they were swords and spears of some sort, similar to the katanas and naginatas wielded by many warriors in the Nations, but these weapons were crafted in strange styles. The blades were long, straight, and double-edged, unlike the curved and single-edged katana or the short, stabbing ninjato. The spears were likewise, alien in form. Instead of ending in a curved blade like the naginata, the wooden shafts of these foreign weapons ended in axe heads or metal tips similar but larger than arrowheads, and in cross formations. A few of the fallen warriors had crossbows in their hands, similar to the ones the Land of Waves utilized, but these were much larger and looked like they packed far more of a punch.

Reigning in their confusion and intrigue as best they could, the bewildered fishermen looked around the ship for signs of what had killed these alien warriors. Evidence of an intense battle was clear now that they were aboard the ship, as they laid eyes on ripped planks and shattered storage boxes, among the bodies of the fallen. One of the metal warriors was pinned to the mast of the ship by a large steel bolt nearly six feet long through his gut, no doubt fired by one of the bow like contraptions that adorned this ship. His heavy steel plating had never stood a chance.

Some of the other warriors had their helms bashed in by blunt weapons, while the ones that died at the hands of bladed weapons were mostly stab wounds in the joint areas, where the armor appeared to be significantly weaker. Kintaro noticed that several of the steel-clad men and women had been stabbed in the back, which meant that the melee had been especially chaotic, or that the soldiers had been both literally and metaphorically 'stabbed in the back'.

Some of the fishermen held less trepidation in their hearts than others, and were even bold enough to investigate the bodies closely. They found that the helmets of the warriors had a strange function, as the steel flap covering their faces could be lifted to rest atop their heads.

Some of the men who were brave enough to do so examined the faces of the dead with serious and subdued gazes. While most of the fallen were untouched, no doubt protected by their helmets, some sported jagged burns across their faces, as if lightning had coursed through their bodies. Strangely, unlike the dead the ex-navy captain had seen during his tour of duty, the expressions on these men and women were mostly that of determination and anger, although some had looks of regret frozen on their pale faces, as if they had failed to accomplish one last important task before the end of their lives.

Finished with their overall inspection of the carnage, the fishermen grouped together on the edge of the ship, feeling a little guilty of even thinking to strip these fallen warriors of their equipment for the sake of money. They felt as though these soldiers had died defending their honor, and there could be no greater insult to them, whether they were foreign or not, to loot them after that.

But now that Kintaro had moved away from the destruction, he had a wider view of the now quiet battle ground, and he noticed that the dead bodies were more highly concentrated the closer they came to the captain's cabin. At first, Kintaro thought that it was merely a coincidence, but the more he looked at the carnage, the more likely it seemed that the number of dead in that location was because they were cornered… or defending something.

Kintaro pointed this out to his captain, who nodded somberly, his soul downtrodden by the sight of the dead once more, even if they were complete strangers.

"Well, if we're gonna do anything on this blasted ship, we're gonna find out what these men and women died for. Let's go and take us a little look-see."

Leading the way, the captain slowly covered the distance between himself and the captain's cabin, careful to avoid steeping on the rigid limbs of the dead. His crew followed likewise behind him, and they reached the open cabin with within the minute, taking definite notice of the fallen iron clad soldier in the open doorway, with a metal bolt lodged in his throat. Strangely, it was a frontal injury, and the soldier was on his back, facing the open cabin, meaning that he had been shot from within the room. If the warriors were defending whatever was in there, why had this one been killed from inside?

Shaking the question from his mind, as there was no way he would ever know, the captain stepped over the fallen body and peeked into the dimly lit room. The torches along the walls had long since run out of fuel, and the only light available in the room was the sparse sunlight that peeked through the open door.

After spending a few moments adjusting to the darkness, the captain and a handful of his crew stepped inside, eager to discover what so many had given their lives for.

The cabin itself was relatively small, and consequently, it did not take long for the venturing crew to lay eyes on yet another dead warrior, slumped against the wall opposite to the door, with a crossbow in one cold arm and a small box, no larger than an infant, cradled in the other.

The fishermen gingerly stepped over to the man, as if heavy footfalls would disturb his now eternal slumber. Unlike the rest of the metal soldiers, this man bore no helmet, and so his grizzled, wrinkled face and frazzled old gray beard, marred with splotches of blood, was easily visible. The man had a full head of wispy gray strands, likewise bloodstained, and a nasty gash across his forehead. It was then that the fishermen noticed a crumpled, discarded metal helmet next to the old warrior, one that had been caved in from the front.

The crossbow in the man's cold and limp right hand was slack, and there was no ammunition in the device, and it became obvious that this man had shot the other warrior in the doorway. But to the fishermen, everyone aboard the boat looked the same, so how could they ever know friend from foe?

Pushing the question aside, Kintaro leaned down in front of the dead man before him. It just now occurred to him that none of the bodies aboard the ship were deteriorated too badly, meaning that they had not died all that long ago, especially taking the harsh ocean elements into account.

The older man must've been in his forties, or maybe even his early fifties. If anything, he had probably been a veteran, the commander of the men aboard this dreary ship. His visage, while frozen in death, was a satisfied one. Almost like he had performed one final act of duty before his passing, knowing that he had somehow changed the course of fate.

Looking down to the man's steel-clad arms lined with gold, further increasing the fishermen's conclusion about rank, Kintaro took notice of the small box cradled in the nook of the man's left arm. It had been noticeable when they first laid eyes on him, but now that they had seen nothing else of importance in the captain's cabin, it became painstakingly obvious to the fishing crew that this; this… box… was what so many had died for.

Their interest piqued to insatiable levels, Kintaro attempted to grab the box and examine it, only to be met with far more resistance than he expected from a dead man. Not that the old warrior was actively resisting him, but he had a steel vice grip on the edge of the box. The rigor mortis effect of death only served to make the cold grip even stronger.

But still, with considerable prying, albeit carefully, Kintaro extracted the box from the man's dead embrace, before placing the man's arm on his lap instead of limply at his side, as a small homage to his ended life, whoever he may be.

Finding it hard to see anything distinctive on the box in the dimness of the cabin, Kintaro took the box back outside onto the deck, where he and the rest of the crew would be able to examine the box with aid from the sun.

Placing it down in a small space a body didn't occupy, the fishermen gathered around it. The box was very small, having foot by foot dimensions at the most. It was altogether plain, except for gold embroidery on the top. The golden lines wove in and out of each other intricately, forming an emblem that resembled some sort of lizard with wings, although none of the fishermen recognized such a thing.

They also noticed that the box was really more of a chest of sorts. It lacked hinges, but was instead a two piece construction. There was a bottom section, naturally, and the top section was just barely an inch wider on all sides, so that it would slide over the bottom section snugly.

After examining the box for a good five minutes, the captain spoke up, impatient with the current proceedings.

"Well, are we gonna stare at this hunk of wood all day or open the damn thing?"

The majority of the crew nodded in agreement, although a few seemed a little nervous about the prospect of opening the box. After all, if the entire crew of this ghost ship had died to protect the thing, then surely it had other fail safes? Traps of some sort?

Nevertheless, the sheer curiosity of the whole situation overpowered the crew's trepidation, as Yun, the burliest of the crew, picked up the box and attempted to open it.

"W-what the hell? I can't open the damn thing!"

A handful of Yun's fellow crewmen snorted in derision, baffled and amused at the strongest of their number being unable to open a silly little box.

"What's the matter, Yun? Can't get a grip with those sweaty hands of yours?"

The accused man glared at his fellows.

"Oh yeah? Here, you try. I'm telling you, this thing is glued shut or something!"

One of the other men accepted the challenge, and took the box into his own arms, only to be met with the same results. After suffering a bout of laughter at his own expense, he passed the object down to the next man, whose success was equally denied.

Soon the befuddling little box had been passed around the whole crew, and it was discovered that not a single one possessed the strength to open it. Many of them muttered amongst themselves, a little insulted at being too weak to pry open a box.

Consequently, the men started coming up with suggestion for opening the box, although the most common one was to smash it open, while the rest were almost too ridiculous to even consider. However, Kintaro, who had been silent in his own musings, suddenly spoke up with the most reasonable idea presented so far.

"What about Liu, back in the town? Isn't he a retired ninja or something? Maybe he'll know how to open it."

Kintaro's fellow fishermen were soon nodding in agreement, as they voiced their support of the idea.

"Yeah, he's like a Jonin from Taki, right? He's gotta have some tricks!"

"And I heard he's some sort of a seal expert too. This thing seems sealed to me alright, I bet Liu will be able to open it for sure!"

As it was decided that the contents of the box would have to be discovered later, the men prepared to return to their own ship. They wanted to do some sort of burial for the fallen warriors here, but they couldn't very well bury these men out here at sea, and they had no means of starting a fire to cremate the dead. They had no choice but to leave this ghost vessel and its corpses to the sea.

But before they left, the captain motioned for his men to check downstairs.

"I sure as hell ain't takin' anything off of the dead, but if you find anything downstairs you can take in good conscience, as long as it'll fit on the boat, take it. Anything we can barter off back home will add some money to the town. Kami knows we need it."

A handful of the crew heading off to do just that, Kintaro decided he would rather go ahead and take the box back aboard their own ship. Using the ropes the fishermen had used to board this floating vessel of death to begin with, he lowered the precious item down to the men who had stayed on the ship, who would no doubt be shocked when they heard of their comrade's findings.

After the better part of an hour, the fishing crew was back aboard their own ship, bow loaded down with extra cargo. The men had found extra supplies on the lower decks of the ship, including an armory full of backup gear for the soldiers who had manned the vessel. Now the fishermen were taking hundreds of pounds worth of alien steel armor and foreign weapons back to the mainland, in hopes of selling off the unique items to collectors or arms dealers for a decent price. Of course, more than a few of them were interested in keeping a helmet or short sword as a memento of what they had discovered here. They were reluctant to leave the ghost ship out at sea like this, but there was no way to bring it back with them, as they could never hope to tow it and the crew wasn't large enough to man such a vast warship.

So for now, they had to be content with what they had managed to salvage from the ship, and the crew eagerly examined their findings as they angled their ship for home. All the while, Kintaro sat at the stern of the ship, the mysterious box cradled in his hands almost like the dead man he had taken it from. And although it may have been his own delusions, he felt as though he could feel a rhythmic thumping from within his treasure, shallow and weak.

* * *

**Five and a half years later…**

Blazing sun, arid wind, scorching sand… These were the three factors of Sunagakure that made it one of the least hospitable places in the five Elemental Nations. Even its own residents were not overly fond of the place. They were more likely staying out of loyalty instilled since childhood, or because this was the only life they knew.

Even Baki, Jonin level ninja and member of the Kazekage's advisory council, had difficulty thinking of positive aspects of the Sand Village. If he had not been born, raised, and trained in this very place, he probably would not have found reason to stay.

Of course, Baki was too involved in the affairs of his home village to ever consider leaving for any reason anyway. In fact, the Kazekage trusted Baki so much that the high-level ninja would soon begin to personally train the Kazekage's children; Temari, Kankuro… and Gaara.

But that was hardly the case any longer. Stopping in his tracks along one of the desert village's many streets, surrounded by civilians and merchants alike, Baki raised his gaze to the blinding sun above. Half of his face was covered, of course, but he had been living in Sunagakure for so long that the bright ball of flaming light hardly affected him.

Last week, events in the Hidden Sand Village had taken a drastic and potentially hazardous turn. It was no secret to Baki or any of the Suna Jonin that Gaara was a Jinchuriki. Within the young boy was Shukaku, one of the legendary Biju. It was also no secret that Gaara was nowhere near close to taming the beast, and with every passing year, the mere existence of the Kazekage's youngest son increased the threat to the village.

When it became clear that Gaara would be death of the village before its protector, the Kazekage had deemed the murder of his own son as necessary for the protection of the village. One week ago, Yashamaru, brother of the Kazekage's late wife Karura, had been ordered to assassinate Gaara, who was now more of a failed experiment than a useful tool.

Needless to say it had not gone over well. Yashamaru, an ANBU level ninja, was now dead, and Gaara, in his emotional distress, had fled Sunagakure and disappeared into the desert. The event had launched the entire ninja village into turmoil; a dangerous Jinchuriki who was no doubt more than a little angry with Sunagakure was on the loose, and even worse for Baki, he was now down a pupil.

He had been chosen to train the Kazekage's three children, but now that one was missing, there was a rift in standard procedure. Shinobi were always supposed to be trained in groups of three, so that they could learn the true value of teamwork. Temari and Kankuro alone simply would not do. Of course there were a handful of Suna Academy students Baki could have chosen to fill Gaara's position, but none of the sniveling brats were even near the skill level or potential the Kazekage's two eldest children possessed. Not to mention that Baki's two soon-to-be pupils were more than a little agitated by Gaara's disappearance…

"Hey! Get back here you thieving little runt!"

Snapped out of his reverie by the shout of an angry merchant, Baki returned his one-eyed gaze to the streets before him. The words of anger had been more than enough to let the Jonin know what was going on, but it became even more obvious as he saw a young child dash into an alley, nothing more than a yellow blur, followed by a middle-aged man with a scraggly beard, who looked quite upset.

Almost no one reacted to the scene. Ever since the alliance with Konoha was signed, Sunagakure had been buried in a financial rut. The daimyo of the Wind Nation had cut back funding for the Shinobi village, and the effects had been felt for years. Seeing an angry merchant chasing down a hungry and desperate kid was a common sight these days.

While Baki may not have been the most emotional of men, it did pain him to see his beloved home village reduced to such a state. But nevertheless, he had no time to intervene on the child's behalf, for Baki had an audience with the Kazekage, who was not one to keep waiting.

With this in mind, Baki prepared to double-time it to his destination, but a loud and tormented scream from the alley the child and merchant had disappeared into stopped him short. While a cry of despair and agony may not have been so peculiar had it come from the child… this scream was clearly that of the man that had followed him.

Even most of the civilian villagers stopped going about their daily business at the sound. What could a child possibly have done to make a grown man scream like that?

It was a question that greatly interested Baki, and although he hated to be late to his meeting with the Kazekage, the Suna Jonin decided that a brief investigation was worth his time.

Stepping into the alleyway, his silent footfalls muffled by his own training as well as the sand at his feet, Baki was met with a most… interesting sight…

The child huddled against the side of the wall, his or her face hidden behind obnoxiously long blond bangs. At the child's feet was the man who had chased him, curled into the fetal position, quietly whimpering as his wide eyes stared off into nothingness.

While Baki was not afraid of this child, he was not one to take chances with some sort of unknown power. His most educated guess as to what had caused the merchant's condition was that he had been hit with some sort of Genjutsu. But using even the lowest level of Genjutsu was nearly impossible for a child as young as this one, who seemed to be little more than five or six.

Hoping that the kid in tattered clothing would not turn on Baki in surprise, the Jonin cleared his throat loudly enough to get the child to acknowledge his presence. With any luck, he could convince the urchin that there was no cause for alarm.

Upon hearing Baki's arrival to the scene, the young child tore his gaze, as it was definitely a he, away from the ground and aimed it at yet another adult who he believed was likely to try and hurt him.

Now that they were looking at each other directly, Baki could see that the boy's straight, long blond bangs only covered the right side of his face. It was curled to the side in a way that hid his right eye, yet kept his hair away from his nose and mouth. With his right being hidden, only one dark sapphire eye looked up to Baki, carrying anxiety and stress.

Getting right to the point, as Baki had places to be, the Suna Jonin pointed to the still trembling man on the ground.

"What did you do to this man?"

The boy didn't answer immediately, but Baki's stern expression kept him from being silent for long.

"…I showed him."

The young boy's voice was soft and quiet; as though he were afraid he would break something with it.

"You…showed him? What did you show him? What made him like this?"

This time the boy was not forthcoming with an informative answer.

"I can't tell you… dad said it was bad to tell…"

With little time to waste, Baki decided to throw away civility for the sake of this mini-interrogation. Whipping out a kunai, he held it up for the boy to see.

"You will tell me what you showed this man… or else food will be the least of your worries."

Now Baki had no intention of hurting this frail child, but he was quite surprised to see the boy's gaze fill with anger at the sight of a weapon. His voice grew slightly bolder as he stared straight at the sharpened steel.

"…no."

Surprised that a young child like this, who seemed timid and shy, had openly defied him, Baki was momentarily at a loss for words. Still, it wasn't long before he let his irritable tone leak into another threat.

"If you don't show me…"

With a sudden flash of fury, the boy before Baki roared in at the older man. Despite his childish voice, it was laced with obvious rage.

"I said NO!"

Baki stepped back in alarm as a burst of unnaturally colored green flames erupted from the sand at his feet. Not only that, but there was a sudden increase in chakra in the air. It wasn't much compared to what Baki himself could muster, but for a five-year old boy… this was quite the interesting development.

As the small pillar of green flame, which Baki now noticed was also tinged with blue, died down and faded from existence, Baki turned his gaze back to the boy, who seemed frightened by the phenomenon.

"Was that fire… yours?"

The child buried his face in is arms, which he wrapped around his knees.

"N-no… it wasn't mine…"

"There's no need to lie to me, child. It's a very… unique development."

The little blond boy warily raised his downcast head.

"…unique? Unique is… dangerous…"

_I'll say. Chakra powerful enough to be visible from one so young? Even I am surprised._

Baki believed he now had a good excuse to present to the Kazekage for being late to his meeting.

"How long have you been living on these streets? Have you been a thieving urchin your whole life?"

"I don't know… I don't like it here. I liked the last place better."

Assuming that the boy had lived elsewhere before Sunagakure, Baki pressed the issue.

"The last place? What place might that have been?"

"I dunno… it was someplace with a big tree and a pretty waterfall. That's all I remember. But I didn't like it there either…"

Now Baki was intrigued even further. The boy's scant description sounded like Takigakure, which was far from here. Not to mention that there was a vast, inhospitable desert in-between the Sand Village and the rest of the elemental nations. Had this child come here by himself?

"I know of the land that you speak of, and it is far from Sunagakure… who brought you here?"

The boy tentatively looked around the alley. Baki noticed that the child was deliberately cautious when he moved his head, as if to make absolutely sure he didn't accidentally flip his bangs the wrong way and expose his right eye.

"No one. I came alone. I've been alone for a long time now. Since before the waterfall place even."

"You mean the place with the waterfall was not your home? Where exactly were you born, child?"

"Some place far away from here."

"Can you describe it?"

"No. It's too long ago to remember."

With a bemused smile, Baki turned back to the street, well aware that he had kept the Kazekage waiting for far too long already. He briefly turned his one-eyed gaze back to the kid in the alley.

"If you wish for an end to your troubles regarding your hunger, loneliness, and lack of direction, I suggest you come with me."

A brief flash of consternation overtook the child's face.

"But… you were going to hurt me. Why help now?"

"Your abilities and mystique are of interest to me."

_And while you're no Jinchuriki, you just might have the potential to be a suitable replacement for Gaara. At least you hold more promise than the rest of the students in the village, even at your age._

The blond still seemed doubtful.

"I don't think I want to spend time with you. You're not friendly."

Well aware of that aspect of his character, Baki could offer no argument to that accusation. However, he had an alternative answer: even though the Jonin wasn't completely sure that Temari and Kankuro would appreciate being used as persuasive tools.

"There are two young children around your age that are closely connected with me. I'm sure they'll be glad to accept you."

Of course, Baki was actually pretty doubtful about that. Kankuro wasn't overly social and Temari was still a little bitter about losing her actual little brother. She didn't understand at her age that Gaara never saw her as a sister in any way. Her childlike mind couldn't comprehend Gaara's new hate for just about everyone. That being the case, she was still convinced that she was missing out on something; there was just something about young girls and having little siblings that appealed to them. Baki hoped she would grow out of it quickly.

"I don't trust you, Cyclops."

Broken out of his thoughts, and more importantly realizing that the little brat had just addressed him as Cyclops, Baki aimed an irritable gaze at the urchin before him. On one hand, the kid might not be worth the trouble. But on the other, he had large reserves of chakra for a normal human, some sort of ability he was unwilling to exemplify, and the child could manifest his chakra so strongly that it was visible in elemental form. Baki had a potential ninja prodigy on his hands, and with Gaara's disappearance, he was unwilling to pass this chance by.

"Well, I suppose if you're eager to live out on these sandy streets with the blazing sun hanging over your head for hours on end, you're welcome to stay where you are. If you're looking forward to dying face-down in the sand, amounting to nothing, then stay where you are. Make whatever choice you wish."

Baki turned away from the child with a smirk, acting as if he were about to leave. He may not have been Konoha's legendary Ibiki Morino, but he knew his way around manipulative techniques. And just as he expected, Baki could hear the child behind him rise to his feet, although there was still reluctance in his movements.

"What do you want with a kid like me? You aren't doing this to be nice."

Baki was impressed with the lack of naivety in this young child. He was smart beyond his years; or he at least possessed some more developed critical thinking skills than the rest of the five-year olds in Sunagakure.

"No, I'm not doing this out of pity for you. In fact, I despise weaklings, and kids. But even I can see that letting someone like you roam the streets until you died of starvation or a knife in your back would be a waste. You have the potential to…fill a special need for Sunagakure: a need for talented and powerful Shinobi. Surely that's better than the way you live now?"

Baki made extra sure not to use the word 'replace' when he spoke. While this child really was nothing more than a potential replacement for Gaara, negative words like that would not entice him to come along quietly. He would most likely never match the potential a Jinchuriki like Gaara possessed, but out of all of the young children with the potential to be ninjas Baki had seen in the village, this kid was the next best thing.

Not to mention that this child's special ability could have been a Kekkei Genkai; and if that were the case, it opened up the potential for a new breed in Sunagakure… something like that would definitely be an asset to Sunagakure, who currently had no clans to rival the Hyuuga or Uchiha in Konohagakure.

The boy came to stand beside Baki, having already contemplated the situation at hand.

"When you say it like that, I'd have to be stupid to say no."

"That you would. But if you are going to accompany me, there is one condition."

The child turned his half-veiled gaze to Baki, expectantly awaiting the next line.

"If you wish to accept my offer, then you will tell me what you did to the man who tried to hurt you. I must know how a child like you bested an adult, even a useless civilian, so easily. You reduced him to a whimpering, quivering ball in moments. You will tell me how."

The blond boy tensed for a moment, unwilling to reveal anything about himself that people tended to criticize and judge. But he knew he would be throwing away a perfect opportunity at advancing his quality of life if he did not answer this Suna Jonin's question.

"There… are some things, my dad said, that no one can defeat. Things that even strong ninja like you would rather die than ever see in the light. That's what my dad told me."

His interest piqued, Baki pressed for a real answer.

"And? What is this thing that would make even the strongest of Shinobi tremble?"

The boy's tone turned solemn as he looked back at the man in the alley, who was still curled up on the ground in agony. His next words were wise beyond his years; more likely those of the boy's father than his own.

"For what is uglier than a man's own wretchedness? It is the evil inside that is hardest to see, but when it comes to light, your soul burns in agony…"

Baki was unsure of what those solemn words implied, but the young boy beside him seemed reluctant to say anything else on the subject. There would be time to investigate this strange phenomenon later. For now, the Kazekage had been kept waiting long enough.

"Do you have a name, child?"

"Not one that I can remember."

"I see. Well, we'll find one for you eventually. But for now, you and I both have places to be."

The boy said nothing. His own words had cast a curtain of depression over him. Instead, he merely stood silent as Baki placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, who used a Shunshin to transport them both to the Kazekage's tower.

To any of the civilian passerby on the road, the odd pair had simply faded out of existence; but compared to the daily struggle of Sunagakure's economic depression, it held no one's attention for more than a few moments. Life in the desert was hard enough without having to worry about scary ninjas and dirty street urchins.

* * *

**Now, I'm fully aware that OCs don't make it very far in a fandom like Naruto, so I'd like to put it out there that this kid is the only OC in the whole story and that most if not all canon characters will have significant roles.**

**And for the record, I've thought him out to a very complex level, so he's not going to be some shallow OC thrown in for shits and giggles. **

**Point is, while reviews are not necessary, they would be appreciated, considering the massive size of the Naruto category. Without sufficient feedback to know if this thing is going to make it off the runway or just crash and burn, I'm flying blind. So please consider taking the time to enlighten me with your opinions, if you're willing. Thanks in advance if you're one of those kind people.**

**(Two more things; one, feel free to tell me if I misspelled something or got some details wrong, because I watched the anime as opposed to reading the manga, and terms the manga used didn't find much use in the show. And second, if this story does get some air and some momentum, know that later chapters will be longer. The first is shorter, because as I said, this is a 'test-the-waters' chapter).**


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